Microsoft Match Insights at Billie Jean King Cup, a new era of AI-Powered sports

Continued coverage of AI in sports!

Welcome to the 2025 Billie Jean King Cup (BJK Cup) Finals as it officially kicked off today at the Shenzhen Bay Sports Center, marking the tournament’s debut in China. As the world’s premier women’s tennis team competition, this year’s event has drawn record participation from athletes representing 146 countries.

As the global technology and innovation partner of the BJK Cup, Microsoft created the custom Match Insights solution, leveraging cutting-edge technology to enhance the tournament experience and setting a new standard for AI-powered sports experiences.

“Going into the match, I expected my opponent to be playing fast – all the data and insights provided by Microsoft’s technology showed us that. I was able to adapt my strategy to this and ultimately win the match, sending our team to the semifinals. The Match Insights App helped me analyze opponent patterns and refine my strategy for each match, giving our team an edge in preparation and decision-making during the tournament.” Rebecca Šramková, a member of the 2024 Billie Jean King Cup Slovakia team ever said.

Monica Robbins, Head of Global Strategic Partnerships at Microsoft, said: “From our first days bringing real-time data courtside, our partnership with the BJK Cup has been about giving teams what they need to make smarter, faster decisions. As the event now takes center stage in China, we’re taking another step forward—using AI to reveal patterns and provide clear insights, so players and coaches can sharpen their strategy when it matters most. This is about empowering the sport with practical tools that drive performance where it’s needed.”

This is data that can be used by everyone.

By integrating real-time data with AI-generated insights, Match Insights empowers athletes and coaches to make smarter decisions, enhancing both preparation and in-game performance. In line with the BJK Cup’s values of excellence, equality, and innovation, Microsoft remains committed to driving technological breakthroughs and helping every team unlock its full potential and competitive edge.

“Microsoft is not only a global leader in technology solutions, but also a company that deeply aligns with our values and shares our commitment to advancing women’s sports,” said Billie Jean King, sports icon and equality champion. “From data analytics to real-time insights, Microsoft has delivered unprecedented technical support to the Billie Jean King Cup, reshaping how players prepare and how coaches make strategic decisions.”

Microsoft developed the Match Insights solution to analyze and present critical gameplay data—including player movement, ball trajectories, shot accuracy, scoring trends, serve speed, and player data—in near real-time.

At the heart of Match Insights is a robust data architecture powered by Microsoft Cloud and AI technologies. By integrating data from tracking systems like Hawk-Eye and leveraging services such as Azure Data Lake, Azure SQL DB, and Azure AI Foundry, the platform ensures real-time speed, reliability, and security—empowering smarter, faster decision-making in competitive play.

Microsoft Surface devices further enhance the Match Insights experience by offering lightweight, hardware support. Whether courtside, in the locker room, or back at the hotel, teams can access real-time data anytime, enabling flexible pre-match preparation and post-match analysis.

AI Integration, Continuous Innovation: Enabling Global Intelligent Interaction

Focusing on technological innovation, Microsoft continuously enhances the data analytics and insight capabilities of its Match Insights platform, incorporating feedback from players and coaches throughout the tournament. In recent years, the platform has evolved in step with rapid AI advancements, empowering elite teams at the Billie Jean King Cup with increasingly intelligent, real-time decision-making at courtside.

During each match, Microsoft Azure processes over 300,000 data points from multiple sources, instantly generating more than 1,500 unique statistical combinations. AI models analyze this data in real time to produce actionable insights—such as serve placement, rally tendencies, and scoring patterns—helping coaches and players adjust strategies on the fly. The system also uncovers subtle patterns in player behavior, shot selection, and momentum shifts, and generates advanced analytics like rally effectiveness and serve win rates to support deeper tactical decisions.

As the sports industry enters a new era of intelligence and data-driven transformation, Microsoft continues to deepen its collaboration with top-tier global sporting events, powered by the real-time data processing and AI analytics capabilities of the Azure.

In July, Microsoft announced a strategic partnership with the Premier League, becoming its Official Cloud and AI Partner. The collaboration supports the modernization of the league’s digital infrastructure, match analysis, and operations—serving 1.8 billion fans across 189 countries and regions.

Together, Microsoft and the Premier League launched the “Premier League Companion” digital platform, powered by Copilot and Azure OpenAI. The platform integrates over 30 years of match data, 300,000 articles, and 9,000 video clips to deliver personalized content recommendations and intelligent interactive experiences for fans worldwide.

As one of the most widely watched sports leagues worldwide, the National Football League (NFL) has maintained a strategic partnership with Microsoft for more than a decade. Microsoft provides real-time data and analytics tools to all 32 clubs, supporting approximately 1,800 players and over 1,000 coaches and staff.

During the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine, league coaches and scouts used an application powered by Microsoft Azure AI Foundry to analyze more than 300 prospects. The tool delivers real-time insights based on historical data within seconds, significantly enhancing the efficiency of talent evaluation. Looks like AI is here to stay.